'Cookie Monster' appears in court

A New York resident who dresses as the Cookie Monster and poses for photos with children in Times Square has appeared in court after allegedly pushing over a two-year-old boy.

Cookie Monster, Hello Kitty and Super Mario pose with a tourist in Times SquarePhoto: AP

By Paul Wright

7:01PM BST 09 Apr 2013

Osvaldo Quiroz-Lopez, 33, was accused of pushing the young boy after arguing with the child's mother about payment for a picture she had taken.

Appearing in front of a judge yesterday wearing a hoody with the words "Like What You See" printed on the front, the court heard how he hurled abuse at mother Parmita Katkar before shoving her young son.

Quiroz-Lopez, while dressed as the Cookie Monster, is alleged to have shouted "Give me money! Give me money! I get $2 for a photo. You are a bitch, your son is a b------, and your stuff is trash".

Katkar, who is a celebrated Bollywood actress and former beauty Queen, says her son is still traumatised by the incident.

She told the New York Post: "All he keeps saying is 'I don't like the Cookie Monster'."

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While many see themselves as street performers entertaining children, police have started to see the presence of costumed characters in Time Square as a nuisance to tourists and New Yorkers alike.

Katkar's said it was an Elmo who initially approached them as they were walking through the tourist hot-spot, but other characters soon surrounded the pair and started posing for photos.

When the former beauty Queen said she was unable to give the performers a tip until her husband returned from an ATM, some of the costumed characters, including a Puss in Boots, allegedly started to turn on her.

After police reviewed video footage of the incident, it was only the Cookie Monster character, Quiroz-Lopez, who was eventually arrested.

He has been arraigned and held in lieu of bail on charges of reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child.